Client Portal — User Manual

ZenexCloud WordPress Hosting

Also available as a downloadable Word document.

Getting Started

This manual explains how to use the Client Portal — the control panel for your managed WordPress hosting on ZenexCloud. From here you can manage your WordPress site, domains, SSL certificates, backups, staging environment, and more, without needing to touch a server directly.

Every hosting account gets its own private, isolated server. Nothing on this server is shared with any other customer, and every action you take here applies only to your own site.

Signing In

There are three ways to sign in, depending on your role:

A. One-click link from your billing dashboard

If you access the Client Portal through a "Log in to Panel" button in your hosting provider's billing area, you're signed in automatically — no password needed. This is the normal way for the account owner to get in.

If this link is old or already used, you'll see a friendly "link expired" screen with an option to sign in with email and password instead, rather than a bare error.

B. Direct email and password

If your hosting provider has enabled this for your account, you can sign in directly using your account email and a password they've given you. This isn't turned on automatically — ask your provider if you'd like it enabled.

C. Invited team members

If the account owner has invited you as a Developer or Support team member, you'll receive an email invitation. Accepting it lets you set your own password, which you then use to sign in directly.

The Dashboard Layout

The left-hand sidebar is organized into four groups: Overview (no heading), Site (App Service, Domains, SSL, Web Server, Database, Environment, Deployment, Email), Operations (Backups, Snapshots, Terminal, File Manager, Metrics, Logs), and Account (Notifications, Audit Logs, Users).

If you have more than one hosting account, a site switcher appears at the top of the sidebar, letting you jump between your sites instantly without signing in again.

Overview

The first page you see after signing in — a snapshot of your site's health and configuration: status, region, plan (tier + vCPU/RAM), server IP, WordPress/PHP version, Daily Backups/DDoS status, staging status, every domain with live SSL status, live disk/memory/bandwidth usage, last backup time, and a recent activity feed.

Two buttons are always available: Browse (opens your live site) and Log in to WordPress (one-click admin login).

App Service

Day-to-day WordPress management, no technical knowledge needed.

Your admin username/password shown with copy/reveal icons, plus a Change password form.
One-click Log in to wp-admin.
Quick actions: Check WordPress version, List plugins, Update all plugins, List themes, Flush cache.

If your plan includes staging, a Production/Staging toggle switches which environment every action applies to. Staging has its own, separate admin password.

Domains

Every account starts with a free platform subdomain that can never be removed.

Add your own domain and follow the on-screen A-record instructions. Status moves automatically: Pending DNS → Verified → SSL issued (a real, free HTTPS certificate, no button needed — a Retry SSL button appears if something stalls).

Each verified custom domain has its own Production/Staging toggle, deciding which of your two sites it shows.

SSL

A live certificate checker for every address your site answers to. Stat cards show active / expiring soon / needing attention. This checks your real certificate directly, not just whether setup was attempted once. A Fix SSL button re-issues on demand.

Web Server

Live status for nginx and PHP-FPM (worker counts, config test result), plus a PHP version switcher (8.1–8.4) that applies to your whole site at once.

Switching PHP versions can affect plugin/theme compatibility. If your developer recommends a specific version, set it here.

Database

Connection details for external tools, plus Open in phpMyAdmin. Quick actions: Check database size, List tables, Optimize tables, Repair tables. A SQL query box runs raw SQL directly.

There is no undo for a query you run here. If you're not sure what it does, don't run it, or ask your developer first.

Danger zone — Reinstall WordPress wipes that environment back to fresh. Requires typing your exact domain to confirm plus setting a new admin password.

Environment (wp-config.php & PHP Settings)

wp-config.php constants and variables

Add, edit, or view constants/variables in wp-config.php. Database credentials and secret keys are shown for reference but read-only (manage those from Database instead).

PHP Settings

Adjust PHP server limits yourself — useful when a theme or plugin import fails with a timeout or "file too large" error. Changes apply automatically within a few minutes, no restart needed.

max_execution_time (seconds) — how long a single PHP request may run.
max_input_time (seconds) — how long PHP may spend receiving form/upload data.
max_input_vars — maximum form fields per request.
memory_limit (MB) — memory a single PHP process may use.
post_max_size (MB) — maximum size of any single form submission, including uploads.
upload_max_filesize (MB) — maximum size of a single uploaded file.
session.gc_maxlifetime (seconds) — how long a logged-in session stays valid.

Each field shows its allowed range. The maximum is capped by your plan, since these affect your own server's real resources:

Plan	memory_limit	post_max_size	upload_max_filesize
Basic	up to 1024 MB	up to 512 MB	up to 512 MB
Standard	up to 2048 MB	up to 1024 MB	up to 1024 MB
Premium	up to 4096 MB	up to 2048 MB	up to 2048 MB

There's no "unlimited" option, on purpose — your account has its own dedicated server, and a PHP process with no ceiling could use up all of that server's memory, slowing or crashing your entire site, not just one request. If you consistently need more, consider upgrading your plan.

Deployment (Staging)

Staging gives you a second, fully independent copy of your site — own files, own database, own address — for testing changes safely before going live.

Included on Standard and Premium. Basic shows an upgrade prompt instead.

Click Create staging site to provision it.

Production and staging never automatically sync in either direction — there's no "push to production" or "pull from production" button. Changes made on one never appear on the other unless you make them yourself on both.

Email

Configures WordPress to send mail from your own domain instead of a generic address. Needs a verified custom domain first. Click Set up email sending, then add the TXT DNS records shown.

Some networks block outbound email on port 25 by default. If mail still isn't arriving, contact support.

Backups

WordPress-level backups (files + database), stored off-server. A usage bar shows your monthly limit. Back up now takes one manually. Each backup can be Downloaded or Restored (asks for confirmation, since it overwrites your current site).

Snapshots

A complete image of your entire server (different from Backups, which cover files + database only). Create snapshot; restoring replaces your whole server and is clearly warned; delete when no longer needed.

Terminal

Not a full shell — a curated set of safe, read-only diagnostics: Disk usage, List processes, Check DNS, Uptime, List WP-Cron events.

File Manager

Browse, edit, upload, and download the files on your live site directly from your browser — no FTP client needed.

Metrics

Live load average, memory, and disk usage, plus visitor statistics (unique visitors, requests, success vs. error counts, top pages) that reset daily.

Logs

Four auto-refreshing tabs: Nginx access, Nginx error, PHP-FPM error, WordPress debug.

Notifications

Automatic alerts: backup results, SSL renewals, usage warnings.

Users (Team Members)

Owner-only. Invite by email with a role (Owner, Developer, Support/view-only); revoke access anytime.

Audit Logs

A complete history of every action taken on your account, by you, your team, or support staff.

Frequently Asked Questions

A theme/plugin import keeps failing with a timeout or "file too large" error — what do I do?

Go to Environment → PHP Settings and raise max_execution_time, memory_limit, post_max_size, and upload_max_filesize, then try again.

Changes on staging don't show up on my live site.

Production and staging are fully independent with no automatic syncing. Make the same change on production yourself, or point a custom domain at staging instead.

I forgot my WordPress admin password.

Go to App Service and use the Change password form.

What's the difference between a Backup and a Snapshot?

A Backup covers WordPress files + database only. A Snapshot is a complete image of the entire server.

Getting Help

If anything isn't covered here, contact your hosting provider's support team with your platform subdomain or Service ID and a description of what you were trying to do.